CIMM – Changing Institutions – February 28, 2024

Key Facts and Figures

• International students are advised that they must inform IRCC if they decide to change schools after applying for their study permit. However, there are currently no consequences if an international student changes schools and does not inform IRCC. For this reason, movement between Designated Learning Institutions (DLIs) is very common and extremely difficult for IRCC to track.

Key Messages

• If students do not inform IRCC that they have changed schools, their previous DLI may report that they are noncompliant with their study permit conditions. This could result in a follow-up investigation on the student.
• Provinces and Territories, stakeholders and DLIs have raised concerns with regards to the ability of international students to change DLIs without notification, as this could undermine some efforts to strengthen the international student program and manage cap allocations.
• IRCC is aware of these concerns and is developing options to address these challenges.
• IRCC has limited data on how often international students change DLIs. Where data on a DLI change is provided by the client to IRCC, it is captured in the student’s Global Case Management System (GCMS file). . However, this data is not easily extractable for reporting purposes. IRCC’s Digital Platform Modernization aims to modernize the collection of enrolment information – including DLI changes - on study permit holders to more accurately pinpoint where individuals are studying.
• This will complement other enhancements intended to strengthen program integrity, such as caps on the intake of study permit applications, the enhanced Letter of Acceptance (LOA) verification process and the Recognized Institutions Framework.

Supplementary Information

• International students might decide to change institutions shortly after obtaining their study permit, or later in the course of their studies. In some cases, this might be because the student applied for a study permit based on their acceptance at one institution, and then decided to accept an offer from a different institution. A student may also choose to change schools or programs as they learn more about learning institutions in Canada and find a program for which they may be better suited.
• The current system for compliance reporting does not account for students who may be studying, but who have transferred DLIs and failed to inform IRCC. IRCC is unable to identify where the missing students are studying, or if they are actively pursuing their studies at all.